Many automobile accidents are consequences of human error rather than mechanical failure. This is especially true with today's state-of-the-art automotive amenities which have virtually eliminated the possibility of accidents occurring as a result of technological malfunction. Still, the automotive industry continues to focus on improved safety features for motor vehicles by designing mechanisms to protect both drivers and passengers, making for safer driving conditions.
Vehicular accidents are commonly caused during the passing and overtaking of vehicles that are anterior to one's own vehicle. Safety hazards are created when large and/or wide vehicles block the visual field available to the vehicle in the posterior position, obstructing the view of the driver. It has heretofore been necessary to direct the vehicle slightly into the adjacent lane on the right or left in order to assure safe passage into another lane.
The ability to see other vehicles is an important aspect in accident prevention. Furthermore, having adequate views to the rear of, alongside, and/or forward of one's vehicle is essential to safe operation. These views are obtained in a less hazardous manner when the driver is not required to make dangerous movement into another lane in order to obtain a greater visual field prior to passing vehicles immediately ahead of them.
The use of vehicular mirrors is known in the prior art. More specifically, vehicular mirrors heretofore devised and utilized are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements. It may be desirable to provide a forward and rearward viewing mirror device which provides the visual field of significant areas and/or objects that would otherwise not be viewable to the driver and thus overcomes the various drawbacks of the prior art.
Many mechanisms have been proposed and constructed for enhancing the forward visual field available to drivers. These include image capture devices, periscope apparatuses, and the use of prisms or a system of mirrors. Although often providing results, these devices also have several shortcomings. For example and without limitation, image capturing devices are subject to obstruction, cloudiness, and malfunctions. This would require frequent repair or replacement as a result of structural degradation to the device. The periscope approach narrows the field of view that is produced and has limited mobility. The use of prisms creates a distorted view from the refraction, as opposed to reflection, and results in a view that is of poor quality for determining the traffic situation ahead of the vehicle. Lastly, the use of multiple mirrors in a mirror system creates the cumbersome duty of constant realignment of mirrors alongside susceptibility to misalignment.
The prior art displays many devices that produce front and rear images that appear side-by-side or stacked when viewed, and can cause confusion as to which direction is being reflected toward the driver. Other prior art produces results with openings built into the apparatus which can become blocked from various materials residing within and/or comprising the ambient environment that the vehicle resides, causing damage to the device and making it subject to both maintenance problems and breakage. The aforementioned conditions substantially prevent the prior art from properly operating and/or undesirably interfere with their operation.
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of mirrors now present in the prior art, the present invention provides a new forward and rearward viewing mirror device wherein the same can be utilized for a more effective visual field while operating a vehicle. It is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.